Age is But a Number
by FredandGeorgefreak
Summary: "Stop that," Blaine said strictly. "I love you for you. You're beautiful and honest and so amazing. I didn't fall in love with a number." Blaine rested his forehead against Kurt's. "I fell in love with you, Kurt Elizabeth Hummel. And, everyday, I fall in love with you all over again."


Kurt Hummel hated William McKinley High School.

When he was a student there, he was pushed into lockers, thrown into dumpster, and received a slushie facial daily.

So, never in his life would he have imagined sitting in the McKinley High football stadium stand watching the Cheerios practice.

Coach Sylvester all but forced him to come back from New York to help her coach her new team.

_"None of those girls knew what they were doing. But, you, Porcelain. You were always on the right track."_

_ "I'm flattered by the offer, really I am, but I don't have the time to come back to Ohio. I have school and work and-"_

_ "Great, I'll see you next week."_

_ "But-"_

_ "See you on Monday, Porcelain."_

Back when he was on the Cheerios, he had been made captain within his sophomore year. Apparently, it was a huge honor and was supposed to make you incredibly popular. But that didn't happen with Kurt. He was still the same glee club loser he always was. He was so glad when he got to leave for New York, never having to go back to that dump of a town known as Lima.

But, now, there he was, stuck in that same time for the rest of the year. Of course, Kurt hadn't come back for Sue; honestly, that was the _last_ reason he came back.

The entire reason for his return was that little puppy dog of a boy doing stretches on the field. Blaine Anderson.

He loved Blaine with everything he was. He knew how much his seventeen year old boyfriend wanted to tell the world about their relationship, but Kurt wouldn't allow it. What they had was a forbidden love. For one, they were both boys. Not many people were fond of gays, especially in Lima. Secondly, Kurt was twenty-one, three years older than Blaine; together, they were considered disgusting and wrong.

Kurt wanted to come out, too, he truly did. But, he knew he had to protect Blaine from the harsh, cruel world. He didn't want his boyfriend being taunted because of him.

That didn't mean Blaine wouldn't try to get him to tell people. He had attempted countless of times. Kurt had almost given in, too. But, he kept his head the best he could.

_"Please, Kurt?"_

_ "Blaine, we've talked about this...no one can know about us."_

_ "But _why_?"_

_ "We're not considered normal, honey. What we are...we aren't natural or right."_

And, then, Blaine would pout and pull the 'you don't love me' card, and Kurt would just roll his eyes and assure him that he did.

A whistle blew from the field as all the cheerleaders circled around Sue and her newest head Cheerio, Quinn Fabray.

"Alright, ladies," Sue began in her cold voice, glaring at Blaine, muttering, "and Gay Face." Blaine scowled, looking at his feet. "Today is one of Sue Sylvester's continuous running practices."

A few girls groaned, throwing their hands up in frustration. Others grew pale, bitting their lips.

"Everyone of you needs to lose a few. Some more than others." She stared directly at Blaine, causing him to turn bright red and look away.

Kurt frowned. Blaine was very self conscious about his physical appearance, even though he had no reason to be. He was down right beautiful in Kurt's eyes, and that's all that should matter. He was smaller than most girls on the team, but, of course, Sue always had to pick on the odd man out. And, in this case, that person was Blaine.

Catching Blaine's eye, Kurt flashed him a bright smile but didn't get one back.

"You're gorgeous," Kurt mouthed, causing Blaine to brighten instantly.

"So are you," he mouthed back, which made Kurt giggle.

"And if anyone stops, the entire team has to-Anderson, stop flirting with my assistant coach and pay attention!" Sue snapped.

Blaine's eyes widened in fear, nodding, trying to ignore the girls laughing at him.

"As I was saying, if anyone stops, the entire team will stay for an extra hour. Alright, let's go! Three hours starts when the whistle blows!"

They all scattered to the track, standing in anticipation, waiting for the whistle. As soon as the high pitched noise sounded, the whole team began to circle the track.

Wincing, Kurt crossed his fingers for the girls and, most importantly, Blaine. At his first running practice, five girls passed out, and seven got sick. He hadn't moved from the couch for a week, only getting up when his stomach turned and had to be emptied.

After about an hour into running, Sue called Quinn over to her. Panting, the blonde wiped her forehead in exhaustion.

"Yes..." she panted, "Coach?"

"Go tell Hummel to get his head out of his ass. I've never seen that boy so out of it."

Nodding, Quinn slowly made her way over to where Kurt was perched on the bleachers. As she got closer, she noticed him gazing intently at the track, a loving gleam in his eyes.

Quinn followed Kurt's line of vision, her eyes resting on Blaine in his form fitting t-shirt and short shorts. Smirking, Quinn turned to her assistant coach.

"So that's why you're so out of it today," she inferred, causing Kurt to jump in surprise. "You've got yourself a good one there, Hummel, I'll tell you that."

Face tinting pink, Kurt glared at the head cheerleader. "I don't know what you're talking about, Fabray. I'm just observing the teams progress."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with checking out your man. I would too. Blaine's pretty easy on the eyes."

Kurt gave her a bitchy glare, eyes screaming 'mine.' There was no use denying it; that girl was too observant for her own good.

"Aren't you supposed to be down there with them?" he asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Coach told me to come see what was making you lose focus. But, it seems I've already figured that one out." My, my, what would she think about one of her Cheerios dating a man three years older than him? She'd probably kick Blaine off the team. He'd have no friends. His parents would disown him."

Kurt let out a low growl, fuming. No way was some stuck up head cheerleader going to ruin the best thing in his life.

"You listen to me, Fabray: if you want to get me in some sort of trouble, fine. Go right ahead. But, don't you _dare _drag Blaine into this equation. He is the ten times better than both you and me combined. He's the kindest, sweetest, smartest, most talented person I've ever gotten the honor to love." Angry tears built up in his eyes. Though, he wasn't mad at Quinn; he was mad at himself. "A-And I can't show the world how much I care about him because he'd end up hurt and I'd be the one to blame. I couldn't live with myself if that happened.

"He deserves all the love in the world, and someone who can give that to him. I can't. He'd be so much better off with someone his own age, someone who could show people that they loved him. I don't want to hide my feelings for him, but, if I don't, he'll be tormented to no end." He didn't really know why he was telling Quinn all this. He'd held it inside of him for so long, and she was the first one around to listen, even if it was against her own will.

All the mockery Quinn had in her died. No one in Lima loved anyone. Maybe they cared for someone, but people couldn't grasp the feeling of love. And, yet, sitting in front of her was an ex-resident of Lima, Ohio, spouting out his love for a boy living in that said town.

"Kurt, sweetie," she said, voice growing softly, "if Blaine didn't love you, he wouldn't be with you." She rested her hand on his leg, rubbing his thigh lightly.

"This isn't fair to h-him," Kurt breathed out, tears rolling down his cheeks, voice shaking.

"You're right, it isn't. But, it's not fair to you either. Do you want to show the world how much you love Blaine?"

Kurt wiped his runny nose on his sweatshirt sleeve. "Every minute of everyday."

"But, you can't, because he'd get hurt?" Kurt nodded. "Honey, you're protecting him from all the bad things out there. That's what a good boyfriend does. You aren't doing anything wrong. You just want what's best for him."

Giving Quinn a small smile, Kurt placed his hand on top of hers, squeezing it. "Thank you," he whispered. "I just don't know if I'm enough for him."

"You're more than enough."

Both Kurt and Quinn looked below the bleachers to see a sweaty, tired Blaine staring up at them with big, hazel eyes.

"Blaine," Quinn hissed, "what are you doing? You're supposed to be running for another hour and a half!"

The boy shrugged. "I got tired."

Kurt smiled, reaching his hand through the bleachers to lace his fingers with Blaine's.

"Come up here, baby," he said, stroking the other's hand with his thumb. "I'll protect you from your big, bad cheer coach."

Giggling, Blaine scampered up the bleacher steps and plopped down into Kurt's lap. Kurt bit his lip, looking to see what Quinn's reaction was; she just smiled. He sighed in relief, pressing a light kiss to Blaine's temple.

"So, you're awake now, hm? I thought you said you were too tired to run."

"You wake me up. And you're much more fun than running," he said eagerly, making Quinn coo over his cuteness. The blonde rested her chin in her hand, elbow on her knee.

"You're a sap," Kurt giggled.

Blaine loved Kurt's laugh; it sounded like little bells. But, at that moment, his laugh sounded forced and hard. He took in his flushed cheeks and damp, red eyes.

"Hey," Blaine murmured, "have you been crying?"

"What? No, I'm fine," Kurt said, wiping his eyes.

"Don't lie to me, Kurt," Blaine warned. He lifted up a hand to cup Kurt's cheek. "What's wrong?"

He rested his head on Blaine's shoulder, wrapping his arms around him tightly. "I just want people to know how much I love you, but they can't. You'd get so much hate all because of me."

"It isn't your fault, Kurt."

"But, if I was younger-"

"Stop that," Blaine said strictly. "I love you for _you._ You're beautiful and honest and so amazing. I didn't fall in love with a number." Blaine rested his forehead against Kurt's. "I fell in love with you, Kurt Elizabeth Hummel. And, everyday, I fall in love with you all over again."

More tears welled up in Kurt's eyes. But, for once, they were happy tears.

"I love you so much," Kurt cried, capturing Blaine's lips with his own.

It wasn't a making out, but it also wasn't just a quick peck. It was somewhere in between. It was soft and tender, and Kurt just let his eyelids drop to a close, enjoying himself. He may have been the older one, but he couldn't be strong all the time.

Blaine cut off the kiss, looking to check if anyone saw them. All he found was Quinn with her hands covering her eyes.

"Are you done?" she asked. "Is it safe to look?"

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Mature, Q."

She removed her hands and shot a look at the curly haired boy.

"Shut up and go run, hobbit," she demanded. "Coach Sylvester will beat your ass if she found out you ditched."

"What about you?"

"I have to stay here and make sure your boy toy stays focused." Quinn ruffled Kurt's hair, only to have her hand swatted away.

Blaine looked up at Kurt hopefully, pleading him to not make him go.

"Sorry, baby, you have to go back," Kurt said, quite saddened. "Only one more hour left. Think you can be strong and finish?"

"No," he pouted. "Wanna stay with you. Please?"

His puppy eyes were tempting and almost made Kurt give in. Almost. He simply smiled, pecking Blaine's forehead.

"Go get your adorable butt down there," Kurt said, patting Blaine's head. "I'll make it up to you later." Giving Blaine an affectionate nibble on his ear, Kurt laughed as Blaine sprinted down the bleacher steps.

Sitting back down, he caught Blaine's eye one last time and blew him a kiss, smiling when his boyfriend grabbed it in his hand.

They may have had to hide their relationship, but it didn't mean Kurt loved him any less.

* * *

**A/N: What a crappy ending...**

**So, I wrote this in study hall when I had nothing to do...I just scribbled it down in my Spanish notebook, and I was like "hey, I should post this!"**

**And that's how this story was born.**


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